Speaking of SD and David Pasquesi, here's the film that pretty much sums up the short-attention spans that drive our company at Coudal Partners, Regrets: Hobbies.jc-07.29.16

Related to the last, we have two ad slots still open in July and a few more in August on The Deck Network. If your product or service could benefit by being in front of millions of curious web, design and creative professionals, give us a shout and we'll hook you up with a nice price.
jc-07.01.16

"CBGB to Reopen as Restaurant in Newark Airport" What a headline! It generates such high hopes, then decimates them more with each following word. But we bet you can do better, we haven't had a contest in a while, send your entry to (contest over, email redacted). (We'll send a few winners some Field Notes.)
bb-12.23.15

The Deck Network is booking First Quarter and 2016 schedules now. There are efficient packages available for multi-month campaigns and The Deck can offer a nice price to first-time advertisers too. If you want to get your message in front of millions of curious and savvy readers, start your new year marketing right, and drop a note to The Deck.
jc-12.16.15

We've been uploading 4k versions of most of our Field Notes films to Vimeo for the past couple of years with the idea that, eventually, the service would open up 4k streaming. It looks like that day is getting close.
sd-12.15.15

Our friends at Busy Beaver Button Co. are celebrating their 20th year in business tonight. Congrats, Christen! CP♥BBBCo!
bb-10.30.15

Steve Delahoyde, still making the important films that need to be made: Chicken.
bb-10.28.15

"Oh, god, yes—we're all just panicking and tearing our hair out over here." John Pavlus on our ad network, The Deck and how we will or won't Survive iOS 9's Ad Blocker Onslaught. (Sorry about the cursing Mom.)
jc-09.25.15

The unstoppable Motionographer joins our ad network for web, design and creative professionals today. Need to get your product or service in front of a large, savvy and curious audience? Give us a shout at The Deck.
jc-05.01.15

We're part of a cool new thing. Our Field Notes Brand is jumping in with other Chicago companies to support local voices through the Chicago Podcast Cooperative.
jc-02.18.15

Inquisitive #24: A Third Way, I had a chat with Myke Hurley about Field Notes, The Deck and lots of other stuff today. Thanks for that.
jc-01.28.15

The Layer Tennis Championship Match is live today at 1pm CST, featuring Kelli Anderson and James White. John Gruber's Match Preview is live now, Smells Like Vectory. LYT happens because of our pals at Adobe Creative Cloud.
jc-12.05.14

There's no live Layer Tennis today but we're gearing up for a new season presented by our pals at Adobe Creative Cloud. Check last week's Exhibition Matches and, if you want to play, in front of God and everyone else, you might want to get busy.
jc-08.15.14

Divide and Conquer, I answered a few questions from John Pavlus and a reader of Co.Design's Design for Living series. Thanks for that.
jc-03.18.14

For a short while in the mid-aughts, Coudal and Draplin's Shhh! offensive entirely eliminated poor mobile-phone etiquette, but in the decade since, the messages of the Society for HandHeld Hushing have been largely forgotten.
bb-01.27.14

A million thanks to Margot Harrington (mah) for stepping in as our Guest Editor for October. Up next for November is a longtime friend and collaborator, Mark Greenberg (mgb) of Mayfair Workshop, the Coctails, and studio manager for Wilco's The Loft. A list of all of our previous guests can be found, here.
sd-11.05.13

Big favor: You may remember Mrs. BB from the Red Blooded video, She and her team at Foley & Lardner LLP are up for a Webby in the Law category, please throw a vote their way, so she can get a big raise and I won't have to quit Field Notes and find a real job.
bb-04.12.13

We're psyched that Chris Coyier and the crew at CodePen have joined The Deck, our advertising network for design, web and creative professionals. CodePen is place where web designers can show off, collaborate and learn about cutting edge front-end techniques. It's also a great browse for inspiration and solid information. "Demo or it didn't happen."
jc-04.01.13

Next week I'll be speaking at Webstock 2013 with a ton of other people I can't wait to see. There are still a few tickets available, so if you're in the New Zealand part of the world or can get there, I'll look forward to seeing you too.
jc-02.08.13

Sad news that the Black Hole Surplus Store in Los Alamos, NM will be closing soon. Not a big surprise after its founder, Ed Grothus, passed away in '09, but a sad loss regardless. We had the good fortune to be able to spend some time with Ed in the store a few years back for our film series Laboratory Conditions.
sd-09.07.12

Editor Emeritus and CP alumni Susan Everett just returned from a pilgrimage to the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte in Florence, and sent this photo. Thanks for that.
jc-08.29.12

Apropos of nothing, the very first product we manufactured and distributed was a hot sauce that we gave away for ten Christmases in a row. It was called Whoa!jc-07.27.12

A huge thanks to Nick and Nadine of Sonnenzimmer (nn) for stepping in as our Guest Editors for May. Up next for June is Our Man in Chicago and Director of Digital Strategy for Chicago magazine, Scott Smith (ss). A list of all the great people who have helped us out over the years can be found here.
sd-06.01.12

Regarding the Adweek thing, here's the whole story from my Creative Morning presentation last year.
jc-05.24.12

The irony of today's quick profile of us in Adweek is that back in the day, when we were still chasing client work, we would have killed for that kind of exposure. So it goes. Also, although I agree that Layer Tennis is "the most fun you can have with your Photoshop on," we're not currently hosting live matches, but hopefully will be soon.
jc-05.24.12

"That summer I was at an age full of squeamish self-consciousness and shameful secret thoughts, but even I had to admit I had nothing on the blond budding-ballerina protagonist of Flowers in the Attic..."Wendy McClure is a Field Tester. Read a ton of personal reviews online or better yet, buy the book for nine bucks.
jc-05.03.12

In response to a couple tweets asking, "What is it exactly that you guys do for a living?" See this video of a presentation I made for Chicago Creative Mornings.
jc-04.24.12

Tangentially related to the last, a logo we made for a project that burned brightly until we got distracted by something else and decided that "we'll get to that later" and of course, never did. Sigh.
jc-04.11.12

How does CP look going into the NCAA Tournament? MCJ and DW went to art school, JC, TK, and SD went to schools (two in SD's case, the same school in JC and TK's case) that have a solid basketball history but didn't make the tournament, and my school will beat MS' school in the Midwest Regional Semifinals.
bb-03.14.12

Well, hello there, haven't seen you in a while. I just stumbled on a coupleexamples of a previous version of our site.
jc-03.05.12

Jim Dalrymple's excellent The Loop has joined our ad network for web, design and creative professionals, The Deck. Jim's reporting on Apple, music and other topics makes it a perfect fit. Here's what he has to say about joining.
jc-03.01.12

Local note. Snow is predicted for tonight, but it will need to be a lot of it if DW and MCJ are going to mount a second assault this year.
jc-02.23.12

Personal note: Any Coudal fans in the Ohio University design program that could show me (BB) around Siegfried Hall when I visit in April? Email bryan(at)coudal(dot)com.
bb-02.20.12

When you're your own client, and there's no one to step all over your ideas, what happens? Well for us anyhow, we wind up with a series of three promotional films that hardly ever mention the product, or only mention it tangentially. Fire Spotter, Northerly, Red-Blooded. Hmm, maybe we're onto something?
jc-02.02.12

A big thanks to Julie and Andy from Letterform for stepping in as our Guest Editors in January. Up next for February is Megan Stielstra, author of Everyone Remain Calm and Literary Director at 2nd Story. A list of all the great people who have helped us out over the years can be found here.
sd-02.01.12

"I was still left wondering, 'OK, right, but what does the firm really do?' So, finally, I went to Jim Coudal himself. Here Jim explains things...more or less." JC's recent appearance on The Interview Show.
sd-01.04.12

We're booking Q1 schedules right now on The Deck, our ad network for web, design & creative professionals. If you have a product or service that could benefit by being in front of millions of savvy and mostly good-looking people, give us a shout. Book more than one month now and earn a discount.
jc-12.12.11

Our Infrequent Mailings might need to be renamed Really Infrequent Mailings, but we did send one out today, It Turns Out We Were, In Fact, Doing It Wrong. You can sign up to receive future but sporadic mailings in the right hand column of our home page.
jc-11.18.11

"I was enjoying it. I was lost in it. I even remember the moment I put it together that we were on a journey south, same as Huck and Jim. I'm a little embarrassed to write that now; it's so obvious and irrelevant and sentimental, but at the time, it was a revelation." Kevin Guilfoile is a Field Tester. Check his and tons more entries online, or better yet, buy The Field Tested Books Book.jc-08.17.11

The Deck is our ad network for reaching web, design & creative professionals. If you have a product or service that could benefit by being in front of millions of savvy, curious and good-looking people, give us a shout. A few slots are open in September. October and November are getting tight already.
jc-08.15.11

A big thanks to Aaron Scamihorn (as) for coming in as our Guest Editor for July. Up next for August is another Layer Tennis alum, Gregory Hubacek (gh). A long list of all the great people who have helped us out over the years can be found here.
sd-08.01.11

Hey, we made Copy Goes Here bigger. It's not a director's cut or some kind of special edition. It's just bigger. But you just wait until you see the 3D version we have planned for Christmas.
jc-07.29.11

Uh oh, SD is sounding off about Netflix complainers. You babies.
jc-07.21.11

"What are you working on?" Thanks for asking, we're working on integrating the unstoppable Dribbble into our ad network of more than 50 sites and services, The Deck. That starts today. If you have a product or service that could benefit from being in front of millions of curious, smart and mostly good-looking people, drop us a line.
jc-06.01.11

"How could my sad little summer camp compare with lurid accounts of John Belushi and Garrett Morris doing bucketfuls of Columbian marching powder..."
Nathan Rabin is a Field Tester. Summer reading season is upon us. Plan well with the Field Tested Books Book.jc-05.27.11

In answer to the question, "Does every damn single thing you do have to have some sort of veiled reference to Stanley Kubrick in it?" Here's SD.
jc-05.13.11

"What are you working on?" Thanks for asking, we're working on integrating the unstoppable Dribbble into our ad network for web, design and creative professionals, The Deck, starting on June 1. If you have a product or service that could benefit from being in front of millions of curious, smart and mostly good-looking people, give us a holler. We have a few slots available for the summer.
jc-05.09.11

Local note for St. Paul-Minneapolis: along with dozens of other contributors, our SD has several of his photos up for sale tonight at the Art 4 Shelter benefit being held at The Circa Gallery. All the proceeds benefit the very worthy Simpson Housing Services.
bb-05.05.11

OK, Chicago's 2 1.5 newspapers have been guilty of boosterism when it comes to sports, but I'm not sure they've ever gone quite this far. Also, the first graf sure sounds like an admission of defeat.
jc-04.26.11

Local note for those at SXSW: the 11th annual 20x2 event happens tonight at The Ghost Room. Our SD has a film in it, replying to this year's question, "Why Did You Do It?"
bb-03.14.11

Local note: the play our SD was in back in October, The Nairobi Project, was such a hit that it's getting a second, six-week run starting this Sunday night at the Annoyance Theater. It includes a new sequel to "the worst play ever written."
bb-03.04.11

In WGN's "Snowed Under" special, the segment about our film Above the Sun is titled "Blizzard Humor" here, but make sure to watch the whole half-hour. It's really well done.
jc-03.04.11

"I would like to translate your Jewelboxing homepage into the Belarusian language, which is my mother tongue. Is it ok with you, do you mind?" Of course we wouldn't mind!sd-03.03.11

The Draplin Design Co. of Portland, Oregon (and home to our co-conspirator in the Field Notes enterprise, Aaron Draplin) has joined The Deck Network. Yeah, we know, "What the hell took so long?" Situation rectified. Onwards!
jc-03.03.11

A big thanks to author Jami Attenberg for Guest Editing for us in February. Up next for March is Jim Hughes, curator of both the terrific Codex xcix and the Lego history resource Brick Fetish. A list of all the great people who have helped us out over the years can be found here.
sd-03.01.11

I can't divulge what exactly they're up to, but Bryan, Steve, Dawson, Matt and Jamie (from 37signals) are prepping their gear and looking mighty serious. They're about to head out on a dangerous mission and if things don't go well, we might have some job openings to post on Monday. God speed men. God speed.
jc-02.11.11

A big thanks to Lisa Leone for getting us through a chilly month by serving as our Guest Editor in January. Up next for February, on the eve of the approaching storm of the century, is writer, interactive advertising expert, and author of several novels including her most recent, The Melting Season, Jami Attenberg. A list of all the great people who have helped us over the years, can be found here.
sd-02.01.11

"And that's where I read most of The Chronicles of Narnia: sitting inside a clothing rack, under fluorescent lights, "Knock on Wood" and "American Pie" piped through the sound system from above." Francis Heaney is a Field Tester. Read all the reviews online or better yet, buy the book for just nine bucks.
jc-01.07.11

Related to the last. We had a ton of fun a couple summers ago with an idea sort of like Let's Swap. Then it became really successful and almost ruined us.
jc-12.16.10

Related to the last, if you have a product or service that could benefit by being in front of millions of savvy, curious, free-with-their-money, creative professionals, give us a shout at The Deck. Q1 2011 is filling up fast.
jc-12.15.10

Also, we're proud to be part of the next chapter in Laura Brunow Miner's amazing and inspiring online photography publication, Pictory. The companion site to the main "showcases" is the Pictory Blog and it's now also part of The Deck. Looking to get your product in front of millions of savvy, curious and good-looking people? Give us a shout.
jc-12.01.10

Page Two got a makeover this morning. You knew we had a Page Two, right?
jc-11.23.10

It's a shame we had to terrify the Ref so badly for this week's coin flip, because it's the 50th one we've made. Once he's wiped all that blood off, someone go out and get him a celebratory cake. Here's all 50 flips. Whew.
sd-10.28.10

Live today, a special Layer Tennis event. Folkert Gorter and Atley Kasky will be playing in a special exhibition match, from the Opening Reception of Adobe Max 2010 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and we'll bring it to you starting at 5pm Pacific, 7pm Chicago.
jc-10.25.10

"...it really was just a couple of shitty weeks spent in a van with four smelly guys who left anticipating the rock 'n' roll summer of their dreams and returned with no illusions." Jim DeRogatis is a Field Tester. Read all the Field Tests online, or better yet, buy the book for just nine bucks.
jc-10.20.10

Layer Tennis Game On! And it's a good one too, especially for Blade Runner and Saul Bass fans.
jc-09.24.10

Our Infrequent Mailings have become increasingly infrequent lately, but when they do go out they usually include an exclusive offer on something, a contest or puzzler and a bit about this and a bit about that. We're queueing one up right now, so if you're not on the list, just plunk your email addy into the box at the bottom of the right hand column and hit "subscribe." Then after this new one goes out, you probably won't hear from us for a while. Thanks!
cp-09.24.10

Local note. Sunday night marks the opening of the play our SD is in, The Nairobi Project. It was written for $50 by a spam emailer in Kenya and is being performed verbatim in all its absurd terribleness.
bb-09.20.10

Big thanks to Herman Yung of Doobybrain for serving as our Guest Editor in August. Up next for September is Mig Reyes of Threadless and Humble Pied. A list of all the brilliant people who have helped us throughout the years can be found here.
sd-09.01.10

In the past we've been proud to feature the music of Diego Bernal, Margaret Helen King, Head of Femur and others in our various video projects. We're at it again. SD is putting together a piece from the footage he shot on his recent Field Notes Field Trip. Check these photos for a feel for the subject. If you or someone you know has recorded a song that could use a ton of exposure and would like us to write about how great thou art, let us know. Use the contact link below. Thanks.
jc-07.21.10

Local note. Alison Cuddy of WBEZ's "Eight Forty-Eight" asked me to chat about what I'm doing this weekend. Since all three of my kids are away at camp I came up with a few things that don't involve Legos or 3D glasses.
jc-07.16.10

Our Guest Editor for July is the writer, speaker, consultant, Colleen Wainwright (cw) of Communicatrix. A list of all the brilliant people who have helped us throughout the years can be found here.
sd-07.01.10

"'Why are you reading this book on your vacation?' 'Because all of my money has disappeared and my boyfriend fucked someone else.'" Jessa Crispin is a Field Tester. Read a ton of personal reviews online or better yet, buy the book.
jc-06.28.10

Big thanks to Keith Scharwath for all his great links in May. Our Guest Editor for June is Kristen Richards, editor of both Oculus magazine for the American Institute of Architects' NY chapter and the ArchNewsNow newsletter. A list of all the brilliant people who have helped us throughout the years can be found here.
sd-06.01.10

"And that's where I read most of The Chronicles of Narnia: sitting inside a clothing rack, under fluorescent lights, "Knock on Wood" and "American Pie" piped through the sound system from above." Francis Heaney is a Field Tester. Read a ton of personal reviews online or better yet, buy the book.
jc-05.26.10

The Deck, our ad network for reaching web, design and creative professionals is justthisclose to being sold out for June and July. If you have a product or service that could benefit by being in front of millions of smart people this summer, give us a shout.
jc-05.18.10

Related to the last. Let's not forget this one from 2008 for America's greatest President.
jc-05.17.10

We coded up a little scoreboard app that displays the last five purchases of any of our products or services and where they're from. Right this minute it reads like this: Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock Germany, Mangakinio Sth Waikato New Zealand, Sarov Nizhegorodsky Region Russia, Burnaby British Columbia Canada and Lomas de los Angeles de Tetelpan Mexico. I love the names of places.
jc-04.29.10

There are a couple slots still open in May and June for advertisers in The Deck. If your product or service could benefit by being in front of millions of web, design and creative professionals, give us a shout.
jc-04.21.10

We're going to make another retrospective video like this one for the just completed Layer Tennis Exhibition Season. We need a cool song. Do you or your band have one that might fit? Tons and tons of people will see it and we'll link you up all over the place too. Use the contact link below.
jc-04.19.10

We've edited together all the volleys from our recent video editing Layer Tennis match into a single short film. Seen together, it's a mix of bizarre and noir.
sd-04.06.10

A big thanks to the gang at the Canadian Design Resource and Motherbrand for serving as our Guest Editors for March. Up next for April comes the dynamic Ohioan duo behind Northcoast Zeitgeist. A list of all the brilliant people who have helped us throughout the years can be found here.
sd-04.01.10

Related to the last two posts, if you have a product or service that could benefit by being in front of millions of smart, curious and good-looking people, give us a shout at The Deck Network. There are a couple slots still open in April, May and June.
jc-03.22.10

"I half-smile as she slides the book back to me, and signal for another beer. I am going to need it." Former Field-Tested Books contributor Jay Hathaway had another story to tell, this time of spending his last few dollars in fancy NYC bars while reading John Cheever. Have your own memory of a certain book in a certain place? Send it in!
sd-03.08.10

If you missed it Friday take a few minutes to check the third Layer Tennis Exhibition Match. Photos were shot and uploaded live from all over San Francisco and Toronto while a composer created a soundtrack on the fly.
jc-03.08.10

All the Layer Tennis Coin Flips including today's. Props to SD and BB (aka The Ref) for the whole series of 32.
jc-03.04.10

Friday's live experimental Layer Tennis is going to be amazing, confusing or a jumbled mess. Maybe all three. More news tomorrow.
jc-03.03.10

So you know. Here's where to find the old Fresh Signals posts that begin with "So You Know."jc-03.03.10

A big thanks to Josh Berta for serving as our Guest Editor for February. Up next for March, and proving we hold no grudges over the outcomes of certain Olympic contests, comes the team from Motherbrand, who run the invaluable Canadian Design Resource. A list of all the brilliant people who have helped us throughout the years can be found here.
sd-03.01.10

Thanks to all our former Guest Editors (dec) for sending along their favorite holiday/winter links for December. For January, we have Rob Walker (rw) of Murketing, Significant Objects, a regular contributor to the NY Times, and too many other outlets to list. A list of all those brilliant people who will be helping us throughout the month can be found here.
sd-01.04.10

It's too late for Christmas shipping, but if you're in Chicago, Field Notes, Jewelboxing and everything else we've got, including Pinsetter, posters, t-shirts, and more, can be picked up in person through 5pm today. Just select "local pick-up" in your cart.
bb-12.23.09

Monthly ad slots for the first quarter of 2010 are filling up fast. If you have a product or service that could benefit by being in front of millions of savvy, curious readers, drop us a line at our ad network, The Deck.
jc-12.17.09

Thanks to Antonio Carusone (ac) for serving as our Guest Editor for November. For December, we've asked all of our former editors (dec) to send in their favorite winter and holiday-related links. A list of all those brilliant people who will be helping us throughout the month can be found here.
sd-12.01.09

Mailbag: Jay asks, "What happened to all those faces you were posting?" They're here. Dario asks "What's the deal with Season 3 of Layer Tennis?" We're working out the dates and details. Maggie asks, "Who won the 10th Anniversary contest?" That'll be announced in our next Infrequent Mailing. And finally to Neil, "Yeah, things sure would be different if he had won. Sigh.
jc-11.12.09

So you know. We have one last-minute opening for an advertiser in The Deck for November. If you have a product or service that could benefit by being in front of millions of savvy, curious and exceptionally good-looking people, give us a shout. We'll do a nice price for a first-time advertiser. Ready. Steady. Go.
jc-11.03.09

A million thanks to Leonard Pierce for serving as our Guest Editor for October. Up next for November is the jack of all trades, master of most, Antonio Carusone. A list of all the brilliant people who have helped us by guest editing Fresh Signals can be found here.
sd-11.02.09

We're wishing October had an extra week or two this year. Thanks to all and apologies to everyone we missed. Maybe we'll do it again in 2019!
jc-10.30.09

Man it's quiet around the ol' CP Shop today. The next three people who buy anything linked there and then write us an email with CHA-CHING in the subject line will get an extra big bunch of stuff in with their order. Use the contact link below. Ready, steady, go!
jc-09.30.09

A million thanks to Andy Ross for serving as our Guest Editor for August. Up next for September is the Paris-based writer and illustrator Joanna Walsh. A list of all the brilliant people who have helped us by guest editing Fresh Signals can be found here.
sd-09.01.09

Thanks again to Henry Cline for serving as our Guest Editor for July. Up next for August is the very funny writer and comedian Andy Ross. A list of all the brilliant people who have helped us by guest editing Fresh Signals can be found here.
sd-08.03.09

Thanks to Adobe and to all the artists, commentators and fans that made Layer Tennis Season Two a big success. You know how at the end of the NCAA basketball tourney CBS Sports airs an emotional video montage of all the big moments? Yeah, ours is sorta like that, only with much better music.
jc-07.17.09

Our own SD (and his short films) appears with the comedy stylings of "37 Matt" Tuesday night at Chicago Underground Comedybb-07.13.09

Arguably the best yet: Jewelboxing Case Study 15: Ben Saunders, where we talk to the polar explorer and former TED Conference speaker about his record setting expeditions across the arctic, his preparations for each trip, and how to survive a polar bear attack when your shotgun is jammed.
sd-07.13.09

"...an advertising network that pairs great products and great sites in a manner that respects them both." Mandy Brown's beautiful and insightful This is a working library has been redesigned and, we're happy to say, has joined The Deck too.
jc-06.15.09

Finished #12 (!) with my daughter Isabelle over the weekend, most of this is still true five years later, except now I lose all the arguments, How To Be a Hero with our Jewelboxing system.
jc-06.02.09

A big thanks to the novelist, New Yorker editor, and a favorite Layer Tennis judge, Ben Greenman (bg) for serving as our Guest Editor in May. Up next for June is another man with LT roots, Chicago-based writer, blogger and director, Fuzzy Gerdes (fg). A list of all the brilliant people who have helped us by guest editing Fresh Signals can be found here.
sd-06.01.09

Related to the last. Let's make Amy's first day a memorable and busy one. Order anything from The CP Shop in the next couple hours and get a copy of our Field Tested Books Book free, just in time to pack for the beach! Ready. Steady. Go. Offer ends at 3pm Chicago time.
jc-05.27.09

The Layer Tennis regular season is over, no match today! Season Ticket Holders, watch your email next week and help choose the field for the postseason tournament. Now go home and grill something!
bb-05.22.09

Sheesh, it's quiet out there. Too quiet. Order anything from the CP Shop in the next hour and get a nice summer-weight CP tee shirt free. Just write dawson at coudal dot com with your shirt size after you make a purchase. Offer ends at 4pm. Closed now, Thanks all.
jc-05.14.09

Paul and Marcus and I had a nice chat during FOWD in London last week and now it's Podcast #165 from Boagworld. Thanks for that.
jc-05.13.09

Since our Jen is moving to SF we have an opening here at CP HQ. We need someone smart and motivated to help us with shipping and running our various retail brands. This is not a design position. It's packing, shipping, organizing and shlepping. But surprisingly, it's sorta fun. We need someone 20-30 hours a week at our Fulton Market office starting right away. Is this you? If so, write michele at coudal dot com.
jc-05.07.09

If you couldn't view Chris Glass' Layer 9 on Friday because of Ref ineptitude, we've fixed the video.bb-05.04.09

Local Note: Our SD and his friend Waki made a series of films for an Asheville, NC tourism contest. Sadly, the elders of Asheville, NC felt that exploding squirrels and Peanut Butter Mustaches didn't represent their city. Their lack of vision is your gain, see the films tonight at The Interview Show at the Hideout. Also: Designer/Decorator Nate Berkus.bb-05.01.09

A big thanks to the whole crew at Remodelista for being our Guest Editors in April. Up next comes the novelist, New Yorker editor, and an all-time favorite Layer Tennis judge, Ben Greenman (bg). A list of all the brilliant people who have helped us by guest editing Fresh Signals can be found here.
sd-05.01.09

A thanks to everyone who submitted entries and congratulations to the winners of our "Anti-Caption Contest" which asked subscribers to our Infrequent Mailings to provide a photo to go with the caption "It seemed like a good idea at the time." Jesse Burden sent in this tragic photo, Mike Brennan sent in this shot, and our favorite, Peter Fletcher's entry, which is fun to speculate about. All three will receive lots of goodies from all our brands. Want to get in on the next subscriber-only contest? Sign up below under "Infrequent Mail."
sd-04.28.09

Yay, Steve's "Greetings Coworker" cake finally made it on Cakewrecks! The joke was intentional, but the handwriting was (poorly) done by a professional. We also liked the balloons that looked like big red, yellow, and blue mussels.
bb-04.27.09

After seven years perfecting it, designer Jennifer Diaz launches her new product: EveryBaby, a huge collection of forms that makes it easy to put together well organized and attractive baby books. We got the chance to talk to her all about it and lots more along the way in Jewelboxing Case Study #14.
sd-04.27.09

For a little background: today's Ref coin flip was inspired by the openings to both The Thomas Crown Affair and Dr. No. "Dart Muller" sounds like a character who could easily fit into both, using his weapon, the deadly "Muller Dart."
sd-04.24.09

If it's Wednesday it's Layer Tennis Coin Flip day. SD and BB are out somewhere and up to something, but I have no idea what.
jc-04.22.09

Related to the last. It's Nice That has been expertly redesigned. As part of the relaunch, Will and Alex have joined us in The Deck, our advertising network for design, web and creative professionals. It's nice, that.
jc-04.07.09

A big thanks to our March Guest Editor, the gang at The Denver Egotist (de). Up next for April is the whole team from Remodelista (rm). A list of all the brilliant people who have helped us by guest editing Fresh Signals can be found here.
sd-04.01.09

For those of you noticing that Fresh Signals seems to be missing something lately, you're right. The good news is that Michele (ms) comes back from holiday tomorrow.
jc-03.31.09

KG's betting advice from last year will be helpful as you handicap this year's Tournament of Books. C'mon, lay down a double-sawbuck willya? You know, for kids.
jc-03.04.09

Our two favorite bearded designers, Chris Glass and Aaron Draplin, who we didn't actually even realize knew each other, worked with Obama logo designer Steve Juras on two government logos that were unveiled today by President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Wow.
bb-03.03.09

Fo the first time in Layer Tennis history we've had to postpone today's match between Jason Santa Maria and Derek Powazek. We'll reschedule it soon, we have been without power at CP since early this morning. Thanks to everyone who offered to help and thanks especially for your understanding.
jc-02.27.09

Jonathan asks, "Didn't you post a four-frame music video? I remember two people chasing each other in and out of frames, and a group of people standing in front of a wall as a guy on a bike rode by." Why yes, we did.
jc-02.24.09

All the talk of how painstakingly difficult it is to make stop-motion films notwithstanding, I think Ray Harryhausen and Art Clokey would appreciate BB and SD's Coin Flip (above) for today's Layer Tennis Match. Check all the rest of The Ref's Flips here.
jc-02.20.09

Crap. We fell to third place. The only consolation is that we're still ahead of that other little Chicago shop in fourth.
jc-02.02.09

An extra special thanks to our January Guest Editor, Alissa Walker (alw) of Gelatobaby. Up next for February is Mister Jalopy (mj) of Coco's Variety and Dinosaurs and Robots (where JC will be guest editing soon). A list of all the brilliant people who have helped us by guest editing Fresh Signals can be found here.
sd-02.02.09

Local note: I'll be taking part in a Chicago Ad Federation panel discussion tonight at Rockit on Hubbard. The title of the event is "So Now What Do We Do?" If you can't make it I'll summarize my contribution here. "Hell if I know."
jc-01.28.09

Our January Guest Editor is Alissa Walker of Gelatobaby who started linking up a storm on day one and hasn't let up. For more about Alissa and a long list of the other smart, talented people who have helped us out, check our Guest List.
sd-01.26.09

Just remember, we're right there over your shoulder, or we should be. It isrequired after all. Thanks to Ray from Halifax.
jc-01.19.09

The next time we do a quickie offer that says "buy something and we'll send you some extra stuff" you might want to payattention.
jc-01.14.09

Our Guest Editor for January is Alissa Walker of Gelatobaby who has been doing such a great job these last couple of weeks that we're considering ordering this sweatshirt. For more about Alissa and a long list of other smart people who have helped us out, check our Guest List.
sd-01.12.09

Thanks much to Michael Surtees (mst) of Design Notes for his terrific posts in December. Our Guest Editor for January is Ms. Gelatobaby herself, Alissa Walker (alw).
sd-01.02.09

While we're on the subject, we couldn't be happier to have John Boardley's unstoppable I Love Typography join us in The Deck too.
jc-12.12.08

Starting today we're doing a bit of an experiment and the folks at Newgator are carrying the ads from The Deck, our network for design, web and creative professionals, in the free version of FeedDemon, their popular news reader. People have opinions and ours is that it rocks.
jc-12.12.08

Related to the last. Maybe if you flatter him a bit tonight you might get SD to show the rarely screened The Spaniard.jc-12.11.08

Local note, our SD is premiering some new short films tonight at The Lincoln Lodge, details here. See you there?
ms-12.11.08

According to the New Yorker, our Field-Tested Books event next week in NYC is up against James Frey's appearance in Brooklyn and Joyce Carol Oates reading in Bryant Park that afternoon. No offense to either, but we think we've got a lock on this one as "best reading to attend on July 28th."
sd-07.21.08

SD and BB are visiting John Solimine of Spike Press today. They're shooting video for the 'making of' our limited-edition poster for the next Field Tested Books feature, coming next month. Here are a couple short videos of previous FTB posters, created by Jay Ryan and Aesthetic Apparatus.
jc-04.22.08

If you, like many, are looking for a scooter this spring, ignore most of the rehashed PR out there, and read these two (1, 2) well-researched stories. (And my site, of course.)
bb-03.25.08

Tomorrow is the last day to enter our "Cover Me" subscriber-only contest. Warning: the competition is very tough already. Don't know what I'm talking about? Join our Infrequent Mailing list, at the bottom of the right hand column, and then watch your inbox.
jc-03.20.08

Attention Fleet Managers and other interested parties. It is recommended that you update the vehicle identification symbol system on your current inventory of automobiles. This update is free.
jc-12.11.07

Our studio holiday dinner is tonight. We're having it a new place that we named and did all the identity work for, La Madia. Mmm.
jc-12.06.07

We'll announce the "Let's do Lunch" contest winners tomorrow. If they're local, they win lunch with us here at Coudal, where we talk about: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, um, maybe you don't want to spend lunch with us now.
bb-12.04.07

(cue timpani) David Nakamoto. Aaron Draplin. Commentary by the man that wrote the book on design, Stephen Heller. Today's Layer Tennis match is complete.
bb-11.16.07

In response to a couple emails from Seed Conference attendees, here's Hobbies, SD's film on passion and follow-through, or a lack thereof. The rest of his "Regrets" series is linked there too, including the profane and hilarious Boxes.jc-10.31.07

We're biased but it seemed to us that SD stole the show last night at Funny Ha Ha with his newest short film Hobbies, the fifth in his "Regrets" series. If you're at all like us and are better suited for starting things than you are for finishing them, you ought to pay attention.
jc-08.22.07

OK, we're totally not giving up "Little Jim" in the Swap Meat, but luckily he came with a swappable friend.
bb-08.16.07

Science, Art, and Albino Squirrels. A great pair of prints available for sale at the Swap Meat.
bb-08.15.07

After "When is Photoshop Tennis coming back?" and "Don't you want her to love you more than other men?" the question we get asked most is "Do you have any job openings?" To the first we say this, to the second we say "she already does" and to the third we mostly say "No." But now at least we can point people at some other opportunities by carrying the 37signal's Job Board Feed.
jc-06.07.07

OK, now we're officially buried in Futura Bold so we've closed the door on additional entries for our subscriber-only "Kern-A-Thon" contest (A CP/Veer Joint) from our most recent Infrequent Mailing. If you don't know what this is all about, subscribe to the mail list, below and to the right.
se-05.04.07

Welcome to Darren Marshall (dm), our intern for the summer and a belated thanks to everyone who applied for the job. You may see Darren post here once in a while, assuming he ever gets out of the Swap Meat warehouse.
jc-05.02.07

We just finished a fun film shoot about a super-secret client product. Perhaps we'll post a little HD snippet tomorrow, but here's what SD's desk looked like while he and MS were preparing thousands of props.
jc-04.25.07

SD and Executive Producer John Tolva are en route to Los Alamos, New Mexico this morning for a location shoot that was motivated by cocktails and a need to scout some vintage computer equipment for our film project, 72°. See how much fun it can be to be an Executive Producer? They'll be updating us with video postcards along the way.
jc-04.17.07

What happens around CP after we've had a piece of music sitting on our desktops for more than a year and have an hour before we have to return the dolly to the rental house: Swap Meat: The Show.
sd-04.13.07

Another "local pride" t-shirt for the Swap Meat. We're buried in boxes and envelopes, but please keep 'em coming. We've started to send some stuff back out, watch your mailboxes, Swappers.
bb-04.04.07

A letter we just got in from Chad Vavra: "I listened to JC's SXSW conversation last night and loved it. It got me thinking that a social network of unfinished ideas would be brilliant: Open Sourced Failures. Yet while I think my idea is great, true to it's nature, I'm not going to finish it."
sd-04.03.07

Swap Meat is kicking a** and taking notes. So much more to come.
bb-04.02.07

Related to the last. A couple years ago we talked Brian into making the pictures for a feature about us in the UK's Computer Arts Magazine. Here's a contact sheet from the shoot. The CP crew looks quite a bit different these days but the location, the carry-out vestibule at Salerno's, hasn't changed a bit.
jc-02.23.07

David Pliska teaches elementary school reading in Eden Prarie Minnesota and used our Pinsetter in class for a number of things, including posing a classic school riddle, and the answer too.
jc-02.13.07

You have watched Slowtron's film series of artist profiles titled Western State, haven't you? No? Start with Geoff McFetridge.
jc-02.01.07

Last month, Kevin Cornell created the art that gets woven into our Fresh Signals column. He's collected them all in one place and also given them a nice title that we'll be sure to steal. Bearskinrug's "Signal Flares." This month, they're by Kate Bingaman.
jc-01.29.07

Bear fans have now made XLI the most popular set at Pinsetter. A recent related option is FKINDYCU, or some anagram of that. We're shipping same day on those.
jc-01.26.07

We post this photo not because it's a beautiful example of garish supermarket-bakery department design, which it is. Nor because it embodies a splendid sense of "naive" or "outsider" typography, which it does. No, we post it because yesterday was Steve's birtHDay and nothing says love quite like a surprise cake emblazoned with the words "Greetings Coworker."
jc-01.12.07

There has been some shuffling in Alexa's rankings of big, important advertising agencies. The WPP Group has jumped into the top 4, taking Y&R's spot and DDB Worldwide seems to be fading a bit. No change at the top however.
jc-01.11.07

Coop asks what we want for Christmas. Either a Red Ryder, carbine action air rifle, with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time or a couple more Executive Producers.
jc-12.22.06

Thanks to Alex at Neatorama, a whole new group of people are trying MS's Einstein Fish Puzzle. Download it now and maybe it'll shut Uncle Harold up at the Christmas party this year.
jc-12.22.06

Yesterday, a guy from Los Angeles --who, as near as we can tell, is feeling lost-- typeset '404' using Pinsetter.
jc-12.21.06

"For some reason, whenever I'm out of town, I find doing the dishes hard to do." Scott's in NYCjc-12.21.06

At Pinsetter yesterday, a person in Brooklyn set 'OMG' and another in Fort Lee NJ set 'WTF.' Let's hope they meet at La Guardia during the holidays.
jc-12.20.06

SD just left to take what used to be called The New Century Limited to LA. It's a train. He doesn't like flying and if the past is any indication, he would never make it by car.
jc-12.19.06

We have formatted our popular Einstein Fish Puzzle as a portable, printable document so you can fight with your family about something new during the holidays this year.
jc-11.20.06

It was the end of an era here at CP as we collectively drank from the 2+ year old can of Barq's Diet Root Beer just a short while ago. And, for some reason, it warranted making a film about it: Moot Beer.
sd-11.17.06

We've posted the final winners of our Dylan contest. Three lucky people have been notified that they will soon be the owners of Dylan's entire catalog on CD.
jw-11.10.06

We like to think we get all his good links, but our SD is also a news editor for UnBeige on the side. Today he and his cohort Alissa Walker chat with the Tastemakers Society.
jc-11.06.06

We always knew we were walking a tightrope with our 16straight Tees. That was part of the fun. After we almost went belly-up in our very first week when the Bears improbably came back to beat Arizona, we figured no matter what happened after that we'd consider ourselves lucky. Oh, and to all you emailers from Miami, yes, we are aware of what happened yesterday, but thanks for writing to tell us. The shirts are now fifteen bucks.
jc-11.06.06

Local note. This Saturday, the Cut and Paste Design Competition will be in town for one night only. It's Mills Vs. Polonsky, Hora Vs. Wasseluk, and much more. Plus, our own JC will be among the judges.
sd-11.01.06

We love when people post their answers to our Dylan contest, like Extra Extra did. There's no danger either, we only count the first submission if two are identical. Hey Jake, send Fred a CD willya?
jc-10.14.06

"He attends, valley the penalty, and learns: nor always realize you will be valued by your master!" Ah, the poetry of machine-translation. Found in this Brazilian review of our film Copy Goes Here.
jc-10.12.06

We're doing research on archival art and religious relic preservation, various auction models, live video streaming and how to safely and spectacularly blow things up. Want to know why? Make sure you're on our Infrequent Mailing list and we'll tell you what we're up to before we tell everyone else. Subscribe, below and to the right.
jc-10.03.06

Bob Dylan's Modern Times was released yesterday and sounds great. See Jody Rosen's review at Slate. We're cooking up a new special contest with Columbia Records that will give you the chance to win the album or maybe even all 47 Dylan albums. As usual, folks on our Infrequent Mailing list will get a head start. Subscribe today, below and to the right.
jc-08.30.06

Film and video editing and post-production companies make up a big chunk of our Jewelboxing customer base. For example, Velocite Editorial, in Sydney.
jc-08.29.06

Novelist pulled from her minivan, arrested, and forced to watch Gigli in a Georgia prison, all because of a clerical error: KG covers the scary-but-true story of Joshilyn Jackson.
bb-08.18.06

We're not exactly sure why but lately we've seen quite a run on our Copy Goes Here tees, most notably from customers in Japan. There's not much to it, just the CGH lock-up on the front and a small 'croix' at the nape of the neck on a very high-quality dusty green shirt. A fashion trend? Who knows?
jc-08.14.06

Samantha Stainburn interviewed me for Crain's Chicago Business this week but she failed to ask if I thought headline writers always paid attention to what they are doing. I'd have answered no. Also funny that an article about how businesses can use the web doesn't have any links in it.
jc-08.14.06

We have an idea for something. If you're a young photographer, looking to specialize in fashion and would like a small project to put in your book and some exposure here, drop us a line with a link to some examples of your work and maybe we can talk. Hit the 'contact' link below.
cp-08.04.06

If you are in Chicago this weekend, don't miss CP's KG at The Printers Row Book Fair. While you are at it, pick up a copy of Cast of Shadows now out in paperback. As stated previously, Kevin is one funny guy and his readings are not to be missed so get on over there.
ms-06.02.06

KG's Cast of Shadows comes out in paperback this month. Want to meet the author? He'll be here tonight and here tomorrow night. Kevin's readings are highly recommended by the CP staff. Not only is the book great, he is one funny guy.
ms-05.16.06

Our first batch of Dead Can Dance - Selections from North America are being shipped out this afternoon. You've still got a few hours left to get your order in that batch. The discs have just arrived, and look and sound fantastic.
jw-05.03.06

Best proprietary sandwich ever: the Moonburger from Finkl's Deli (or "Finkels Deli" depending on which page of the menu you're looking at): "Italian sausage patty with melted mozzarella cheese, peppers and onions served on a toasted onion roll." Not to be confused with the "Famous" Moonburger, which is way too far for a lunch run.
bb-04.25.06

Not sure why but we've had a little pickup in interest in our Copy Goes Here tee shirt. Of course it goes best with the DVD of the film, but I guess it is sort of fashionable in a huh? sort of way, all by itself.
jc-01.26.06

You have until Monday to recite a short poem into our answering machine as part of our Verse By Voice feature. But, be forewarned, the bar has been set pretty high by Zadie Smith, Laura Demanski and Yun Joo, to name just a few.
jc-01.20.06

Re: The Deck, Mister Snitch gets it too. "The Deck seems intent on delivering value to all concerned by not allowing ad clutter."
jc-01.20.06

We're always talking about our projects that work out but here's something that bombed big time. Earlier in the week we sent out an Infrequent Mailing to the zillions of people on our list. We usually include some sort of contest in each one. You can sign up below for future mailings. Anyhow, we came up with this (we thought) cool idea and no one responded, not even a Nigerian relative of a late Banking Minister. We usually get hundreds of responses and sometimes even thousands. This time we got zilch, and the prizes are pretty good too. Here's the newsletter with subscriber-only stuff edited out. The too-clever-by-half contest is under the header "Contest: Act On This."
jc-12.02.05

Rumor has it that our Museum of Online Museums (MoOM) is in this month's Vanity Fair magazine along with Kate Moss and Princess Diana. The first person to send us a pix of the mention gets a slighty-better-than-mediocre prize. Use the 'contact' link below.
jc-11.15.05

As an addendum to jc's earlier post, sales of the Pixies Newport CD are also quite close to being sold out forever. As you will know, this was a very special acoustic performance by the band.
jw-10.30.05

We've updated the Copy Goes Here Production Notes, complete with a clip of "fun with ADR." Also, we welcome George and Dan Elder from Luminair as our newest Executive Producers. We're already in the process of picking out the typeface for the credits, so you've only got a couple of days left to give us the green light.
sd-10.27.05

Jim goes under the iron for an interview, and it's one that keeps going on.
cp-10.26.05

CP, A List Apart and 37signals have collborated on a new advertising network called The Deck. Just launched this minute, The Deck is uniquely configured to connect marketers to a targeted, influential audience of web and design professionals.
jc-10.24.05

Overheard at the studio today, relative to some CGH shooting, "Whatever you do, don't drink the bleach labeled 'iced tea' in the fridge. Or the bleach labeled 'bleach' in there either."
jc-10.20.05

"Hal: Hey, Dave, that was a pretty good joke there, eh? With the pod bay doors? I, I really had you going there. F***, you should have seen your face." Francis Heaney wins the Stanley Kubrick Collection DVD box set, for sending us links to his own 2001 as written by David Mamet and this theoretical AI remix too. Pretty good prize eh? Sign up for our Infrequent Mailings below and to the right so you can be in on the next one.
jc-10.18.05

Our White Sox are in the World Series! Years ago we wrote and created the "Good Guys Wear Black." ad campaigns for the team. And we still believe it's true. Now if we can only get the Astros through we'll be all set. We designed the Astros' complete identity system, logo and uniforms.
jc-10.17.05

We're pretty sure this is a good thing, to have our MoOM listed in some nice company here. Anybody have a translation?
jc-10.14.05

An Infrequent Mailing just went, including a contest and special Jewelboxing offer. Sign up for the list, below and to the right.
jc-10.14.05

CP readers who are also Dead Can Dance fans who are not on The Showlist, shame on you. Only one word can properly describe something you should have known about very early this morning. "vinyl".
jc-10.11.05

After 7 years of wondering and occasional Googling, I finally found info about Daniel "Moose" Brindisi, the honoree of our block of Grand Avenue. Mystery solved. In other Coudal neighborhood news, the Meat Truck is back, we'll work day and night to bring you photos.
bb-10.04.05

Yet again, by popular request, the bags of air video starring Dawson, with commentary by Grace and Spencer.
jc-09.26.05

Derek, Rob and Justin are going to be the first to receive our 'Fleet Vehicle Indentification Systems' in the next day or two. You better hurry though, we only have several thousand left.
jc-09.26.05

If you've visited sites like those for Visa and Volkswagon, among countless others, or have ever used Final Cut Pro, you've seen the work of terrific designer and heck of a nice guy, Ernesto Rinaldi. We got the chance to interview him about his company, 451, in Jewelboxing Case Study 7.
sd-09.20.05

Alex wins a Jewelboxing 20pack with his simple and perceptive entry via StripGenerator to last week's impromptu contest. It didn't really work out that great so here's what we're gonna try next. We have a 20pack for the person who dreams up the next contest and another for the person who wins it. Bang the 'contact' link on the bottom of the page and send us your big idea.
jc-09.19.05

At one time, jw and sd both entertained thoughts of fame. Now that they've both been listed in UR Magazine's "30 Under 30" feature, they've seen the ugly side of noteriety. From the paparazzi to the clingy hanger-ons, it's been a harrowing last couple days. They'd like you to know, however, that they're still just regular guys and none of this has gone to their heads.
cp-09.16.05

In a thinly veiled attempt to garner a product-placement in the movie, the crew at Clip-n-Seal has signed on as Executive Producers of CGH. Well, it won't work. Probably.
jc-09.13.05

Sort of the UK version of Cosmopolitan magazine, Easy Living has a little plug for KG's book,"Cast of Shadows" or "Wicker" as it's known across the pond. Maybe it's their audience but "Hard work at first"?
ms-09.09.05

We hear there's a piece about Copy Goes Here, our film in production, in the September issue of Big Idea Magazine. The first person to send a pix or scan of it to us before we get ours in the mail, gets a present. Use the 'contact' link below.
jc-09.07.05

Enjoy the trailer for CGH and then, if you'd like to receive an authentically coffee-stained copy of the shooting script and other goodies, consider making us roll our eyes when you offer "creative direction" and curse you behind your back by becoming an Executive Producer.
jc-09.02.05

Our stylish but not-at-all vapid Executive Producers should be receiving their first confidential production packages right about now. We also sent one to Roger Ebert for the heck of it. C'mon Roger, sign up and we'll write you a cameo. And welcome to Michael Kristof who jumped on board over the weekend.
jc-08.29.05

Jonathan Barlow writes that he's not "the purest programmer. I'm sure there are a lot of things that could have been more efficient. I sort of thought of it as a way to explore all the array functions that I hardly ever use." He's talking about this PHP script he wrote to solve current fish puzzle. Let's see one in Ruby or something else smartguys. All you coders decide who has written the most elegant solution and we'll send them a prize too. And everybody else, no cheating!
jc-08.26.05

We've just finished testing our newest logic puzzler, the fish will rise again! People who have grabbed our RSS feed or subscribed to our Infrequent Mailings (sign up below and to the right) will get first crack at it Wednesday.
jc-08.23.05

A List Apart relaunches beautifully with articles by Joe Clark and JC.
cp-08.23.05

You may have missed this last week and if you missed it on purpose, I do understand.
jc-08.22.05

When sd and jw came back from Target with a lazy susan and a smirk on their faces, and asked to borrow my iPod, i knew it was time for another of their spectacularly inane videos. I was not disappointed.
bb-08.19.05

Don't overlook SD's most excellent work on the wedding video he's talking about in his earlier post. I can guarantee that this wedding video will be watched more than any other wedding video ever produced in the history of wedding video production.
jw-08.19.05

Key to the success of The Show has been Jamie's help. She's been here every day packing and shipping and keeping us organized. But enough about that because Jamie is also Varla Vendetta, co-captain of the undefeated Hell's Belles of the Windy City Rollers Roller Derby League and they have a big match coming up on Sunday. Get your tix now.
jc-08.11.05

Last call for paid-internship candidates for Jewelboxing and The Show starting later this month. Hit the contact button below if you're interested.
cp-08.10.05

One of our clients is The Chicago Blackhawks hockey team. Our ad campaign for them just got a whole lot better. Let's go.
jc-08.05.05

Late yesterday we asked what we meant when we said "we've run the table today." Jeffrey Windsor was the first of many to know the answer and write us. For paying close attention we'll send him one of these hand-screened and numbered Field-Tested Books Posters created by Jay Ryan of The Bird Machine. We use that term to descibe a single day, like yesterday, when we fill the entire front page with new Fresh Signals.
jc-08.05.05

If you can understand Julien Scott Yeomans's method for solving our fish puzzle it probably goes without saying that you'll be able to solve the puzzle itself. No peeking for the answer though, we're watching. Thanks to Roderick at Make Ready.
jc-08.04.05

Holy walleye! My inbox is jammed with hundreds and hundreds of entries into the Whose Fish? puzzler. Lots of people are 'showing their work' too and some are even right. Keep them coming and thanks to everyone who linked it up. Hmm, maybe we should do this more often?
ms-08.04.05

One new labor ruling I can't imagine JC will be enforcing on the CP crew.
jw-08.03.05

If we had such a thing, Kathy B. from Minnesota would win our 'customer of the month award.' Looking into shipping records on her purchase we came across the fact that she ordered two Lowercase Teesand a Dead Can Dance Selections from Europe disc-set on the same day. For her loyalty, we're sending her a Field Tested Poster, free of charge.
jc-07.29.05

Brandy Agerbeck, an artist in attendance at Gapers Block's "Authors' Roundtable" earlier this week, created this fantastic graphic facilitation, covering all the topics from the evening.
sd-07.28.05

Lots of planets in alignment this weekend in Grant Park. We'll be there in force, recording and selling the Pixies set at Lollapalooza for The Show. Stop by and say hey, we'll all be in these red tees. Also, if you're lucky enough to be backstage, enjoy the food and atmosphere from our favorite caterer. They're keeping tabs on things this week through their blog, Sugarbuzz.
cp-07.19.05

If you don't subscribe to our RSS feed because you want to be updated on things other than just Fresh Signals, we thought you'd want to know that other site updates, (like the MoOM, the left column, Depth of Field, etc.) are blended into the 'Fresh' feed so you'll always be on top of everything.
jc-07.13.05

This is the answer to a couple emails this morning. Why yes, in fact the link and accent colors on our site do change frequently, in fact it happens just about every time the main image on the home page is switched out. Our fancy name for it is the Variable Color Palette™ and it's managed by a little PHP app we wrote. Funny thing is, nobody ever seems to notice, until we use pink. Thanks for asking.
jc-06.22.05

News from The Show regarding Dead Can Dance and Pixies later this week. Join 15,000 other fans on the Showlist to get it first.
jc-06.20.05

Pixies contest winners have been posted at pixiesdiscs.com. Note that Shawn Kelley was not in violation of the Shawn Kelley Rule as of the date of entry.
bb-06.17.05

Sam just emailed to say the whole Computer Arts UK magazine profile on the studio is now online. And so it is. Maybe we should try to photoshop Steve in the front right where Ant is looking sad and Dawson by the door where Ry is looking studly.
jc-06.10.05

Our Infrequent Mailing went out at 1:06 Chicago time. In it, we asked ppl to send a pix of themselves in a Pixies tee, or with a Pixies disc or at a Pixies show and we'd give the first three we received a free limited-editon disc set. Those were spoken for by 1:12. Congrats to Maggie, Becky and Joe. We'll be in touch.
cp-06.06.05

Speaking of BB, he's heading to Cleveland tomorrow for Amerivespa, the national scooter rally organized by the Vespa Club of America!. You'll be able to order the bb-designed collateral online next week, we'll post the link when we get it. Since it seems most scooterists also happen to be graphic designers, look him up if you're there.
cp-06.02.05

You may have noticed (unless you read us only via feed) that we've added the unstoppable House Industries to our list of Support Mechanism partners. If the idea is that by advertising here, companies are going to reach people like us, then this is a lock to be successful, as we're true fans of the House'swork and attitude towards design and type. And you probably are too.
jc-05.25.05

We head out to join the Pixies in Portland tonight and hope to see you along the way. JW will be blogging the tour for us here. If you're thinking of ordering one of the disc-sets you might want to do it today. Orders rec'd before midnight will also get a free disc of a special performance by the band at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on June 8th.
cp-05.25.05

"I had a case of these around for presentations, but I hadn't had a chance to play with them yet. After doing a routine backup yesterday, I had a bit of fun and gave my fonts a nice home. Nothing that's come out of my ink jet printer has ever looked so cool."
jc-05.24.05

We redid our RSS feed for Fresh Signals to help you get them even fresher. Of course we're using Chicago's own Feedburner technology. We've added a system to tip you off when there is a new main feature or significant other change in the non-Fresh Signals parts of the site as well.
cp-05.23.05

The next person who orders from Jewelboxing and sends crew at jewelboxing dot com the phrase "oh kiss my ass, oh let it rock" gets a Pixiesdisc in the bargain. Ready, set, go. Gone. It was so close we had to give it to both of them. David's and Jody's asses will be kissed .
cp-05.20.05

We've made some more progress on the JB tv spot. Where are we going to run it you ask? Remember you heard this phrase here first: Media-Squatting.
cp-05.18.05

In our Infrequent Mailing of last week we gave away a lot of stuff. Nat Davis won the Pixies Disc sets by being a first-responder. Jeremy Cox won a boxing poster for his essay claiming Rocky III "is not only the best boxing movie ever made, but easily the best example of art by humans." And so did Lawrence O'Toole, for merely cutting and pasting Jake's soliloquy from the last reel of Raging Bull into his entry. "So give me a stage, where this Bull here could rage, and though I could fight I'd much rather recite." The rest of the winners soon. Sign up below so that next time you'll know what the heck we're talking about.
jc-05.18.05

Laffs and yukz will be in full bloom come Friday for the season closer of the ever popular Lincoln Lodge. A three-day blow-out of the most popular acts of the year, featuring our own SD on Friday night for the big finale.
cp-05.17.05

An All-Contest Edition of our Infrequent Mailing went out yesterday and in it we're giving away a bunch of stuff. If you're on the list but don't seem to be getting the mailings maybe this will help. They always come from info at coudal dot com and the subject line always includes the words "Transmission from Chicago". So check your spam force-fields.
cp-05.12.05

Case Study Number 2: Woxy has been posted to the Jewelboxing blog and demonstrates an interesting application of our product, with lots of nice action pix of a recording studio in Cincinnati run by "a small outfit of DJs and a geek."
jc-05.11.05

News from our latest project, The Show is going out early this week. Sign up for The Showlist to hear it first.
jc-05.09.05

The next disc-set we sell at Dead Can Dance Discs will bring our total sales up to 99% of this limited-edition. Thanks to everyone who purchased, you (and anyone else on The Showlist) will be receiving an update about your disc and some other really big news in the next day or two.
cp-05.05.05

Our tv commercial production for Jewelboxing is moving right along. SD is going to need some input on choosing just exactly the perfect music track for the final product. This is probably not the right one. Nor is this. Watch the Jewelboxing blog tomorrow for more information.
jc-05.04.05

Jennie Yabroff's article this weekend in the NY Times about making mix discs for weddings caught our collective eyes. Although Jewelboxing wasn't mentioned, it certanily would have made a nice addition, as proven by Peter Fishman and Dara Mochson, who sent us this Jewelboxing-held mix a couple months back.
sd-04.19.05

Michiko Kakutani gives Kev's CoS the once over in today's NYT. "What's striking about Cast of Shadows is that Mr. Guilfoile, in his first outing as a novelist, does all this with a lot more panache than Mr. Crichton has demonstrated in many years." Yay.
jc-04.19.05

"As I headed out on tour last month to promote my first novel, this was the situation I most feared: giant stacks of shiny red books, a pen in my hand, and an audience of one." CP's very own Kevin Guilfoile reports on his tour to promote his new book Cast of Shadows. Via TMN.
ms-04.14.05

"In 1974, a radio transmission was sent from Earth into space, in hopes of reaching an alien civilization. Something was listening...and it's calling back." More info at the Jewelboxing blog.
sd-04.14.05

We're working with our friends at The United Center, along with Don King Productions and HBO Sports on the promotion of the Golota/Brewster fight on May 21. If you're free at lunch today you might want to stop by the UC to witness the open press conference. It's going to be magnificent as only a Don King press conference can be. Here's a peek at what we're doing.
jc-04.14.05

A little local plug: "Rhyme Spitters," a terrific feature documentary about a hip-hop competition held here in Chicago last summer, premieres tonight, 9pm, at Inn Joy, 2051 W. Division. Features a snazzy little animated opening by our own SD.
cp-04.13.05

A little local heads up: SD will be appearing this Thursday, April 14th, at a reading held by author, Amy Krouse Rosenthal. It all goes down at Transitions bookstore, on North Ave., at 7pm. More info here.
cp-04.11.05

We've just posted a great piece of work from the Free the Slaves organization up on the Jewelboxing blog. An amazing project they have, and terrific designers to boot.
sd-04.07.05

When you see something about us in print, scan it or take a picture. If you're the first one to send it to us, we send you a present. Like the Jay Ryan poster we're sending Joan, who saw this little notice about our MoOM in the new Macworld Magazine.
jc-04.06.05

Jake Walker (jw) is one of our partners in The Show. We're trying to get him to move from Boston to Chicago so we can lean on him to help with other stuff at the studio too. Meanwhile, we've asked him to help us keep Fresh Signals fresh. Welcome.
cp-03.25.05

A note to any of our clients who happened to read Z's really nice post today. When we talk about "freeing ourselves from the tryanny of clients," we don't mean you. You're open-minded. You're generous. You allow us the room to do great work. It's those other 'clients' we're abandoning. The ones we never introduced you to.
jc-03.22.05

"We wanted to tell you how phenomenal we found the new paper stock. We were totally unprepared for the difference it made." More at the Jewelboxing blog.
sd-03.22.05

Want to see the CP studio while you try on new pants? It's been reported to us that the video SD shot for Viva Voce here is now playing in retail stores 'round the country. The first spotting was in an H&M in DC. If you happen to see it elsewhere, drop us a line.
cp-03.22.05

We've rec'd lots of entries to our Crash Ballet Redeux contest. You have just a few hours left to be one of them.
sd-03.21.05

We've just finished updating our FAQ for the Jewelboxing System with lots more tidbits of helpful knowledge. More at the blog.
sd-03.18.05

Publishers Weekly has a big spread on the development of the cover art for KG's Cast of Shadows and they show a crop of iterations from the process. Unfortunately it's only available for subscribers. Nevertheless, this might be the only time we get to show the dual-cover version we developed based on an already existing group of visual elements. So here it is. We like ours best as it it speaks directly to the intelligent shadow or doppelg‰nger theme of the novel, does it in a clean modern 'Knopfian' way and yet still feels like a mass-market thriller. But then again, we always like ours best. That's how we are.
jc-03.16.05

First time CP visitor? Visit our About Page for a quick overview of what we're doing here. You might want to stop in at The MoOM, check some of the films we're hosting and even browse the the barely-organized-but-chock-full-of-coolstuff archives of previous Fresh Signals while you're here. For regular updates, subscribe to our Infrequent Mailings below.
jc-03.13.05

This post is a bit belated but that's ok because now when we say what a smart, dedicated guy he is, we actually have some evidence to back it up. Welcome to the CP team to Joe 'call me' Dawson (dw). Dawson is helping out with Jewelboxing and The Show and variety of other projects.
cp-03.11.05

Just in from the soundcheck in Dublin, "Dead Can Dance will be doing approximately 20-30 minutes of brand new, never-heard material in their set each night of this tour."
jc-03.10.05

Another incredibly unique project sent in to us from a Jewelboxing user. It involves, among other things, Alaska and walruses. More at the blog.
sd-03.09.05

Two signed first-editions of CoS are gone, three remain. Get snapping. See 'At Last,' to the left.
jc-03.02.05

Once again, we were sent a project that uses Jewelboxing that made us think, "Hey, this really is a pretty cool system." Updates in Examples + Inspirations. Also, if you haven't heard yet, make sure you read up on the snazzy new paper we're using now.
sd-03.01.05

We're looking for a student or somebody with some free hours, who'd like to pick up a little extra cash working on Jewelboxing at our studio. It's not particularly glamorous but it could turn into something more. So, if you're interested, .
jc-02.21.05

Without giving too much away, quite a few people figured out clue #2 from yesterday's Infrequent Mailing, a few more werejustthisclose and a couple resorted to outright begging. If you still have the mailing, doublecheck it. We didn't ask for the name of the painting, now did we? You can succeed on The Trail without figuring out these pre-game hints, but you'll be much better off with them in your pocket.
jc-02.16.05

JC will be interviewed about Dear Cell Phone User cards on ABC Radio Overnights in Australia today.
cp-02.14.05

Our Pixiesdiscs project rolls along. Check the customer reviews of the discs at CDBaby, these are for the last show of the tour, a very, very late night affair at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. I can vouch for them, I was lucky enough to be there and the experience was tribal and is captured in the mix.
jc-02.10.05

It's messages like the one we received recently from Kate Bingaman that make us really happy we started Jewelboxing. More at the Jewelboxing blog.
sd-02.09.05

Radosh has 25 copies of Kevin Guilfoile's novel Cast of Shadows (I believe that's 24 copies more than the author has). He's giving them away in a series of contests. (The first contest: create a contest. Sneaky!)
cp-02.08.05

Bb's motorscooter site has been on hold for a while as he's been redesigning American Scooterist, the Vespa Club of America's quarterly magazine. If you've got any interest in vintage scooters, Join the VCOA now to get the first Bb-designed issue.
cp-02.07.05

An Infrequent Mailing just went out. Don't miss the next one, subscribe below. If you have already subscribed and didn't get it, maybe this will help. Even the mighty Campaign Monitor can't defeat cranked-up-to-eleven spam filters. The 'from' address of our mailings is always info at coudal dot com and the subject always contains the phrase "Transmission from Chicago".
jc-01.21.05

Our studio-mates from 37signals have been really busy and putting in a lot of hours lately. Here's why. Ta-da Lists. We are not compulsive list-makers but our intern Ryan started one a while ago and now we have the perfect tool to keep it going.
jc-01.19.05

We have word from some friends in London that our "Dear Cell Phone User" cards were featured prominently in the Sunday Times. If anyone has the paper and a scanner handy, we'd love to see it. Send to info at coudal. Thanks.
jc-12.19.04

Download this and then tell that girl who's blabbing about her haircut to the fourth person in a row to shut her cake hole. But in a nice way. Well sort of. A Draplin/Coudal Joint. For the good of the nation.
jc-12.08.04

This morning shoud be fun. CP is being profiled in an upcoming issue of Computer Arts Magazine and we've managed to talk Brain Ulrich of Not If But When into taking the photo that will accompany the story. More after the shoot.
jc-11.22.04

If you can't wait until spring to read our KG's debut novel Cast of Shadows, sign up with Knopf's 'First Reads' program and you might get an advance copy. Most of us at CP have read it now and unlike Kevin, it's grim, violent and relentless. It goes without saying that it's smart too.
jc-11.17.04

Jon from Veer writes, "Our local student radio station got Geoff McFetridge to do their campaign this year and produced some nice t-shirts! If you want one, order quick." Geoff is featured in Western State 3, part of the artist documentary series we're hosting for Slowtron.
jc-10.20.04

At one insurance claim per 2000 insured cars, dr's LeSabre is the least-stolen car in America. Because suburban moms don't steal cars.
bb-10.19.04

CP blogger Scott Smith's short film about a guy breaking all Ten Commandments before breakfast is up at Atom Films. Go watch it again. Please give it one star for each two commandments broken.
cp-10.18.04

Looking for a program to read our recently updated RSS feed? Mac users might want to check out the slick and simple NewsFire.
av-10.11.04

We had lots of people write us about the Coudal/Jewelboxing internship that became available when our previous intern Carlos Barillas took a fancy-schmantzy job at another web design firm. Only one person bought a Jewelboxing 20pack, created a clean, beautiful design featuring his own photography, and sent it to us as an application. That person is Ryan Sievert (rs) and we're happy to have him join the crew.
cp-08.18.04

DaBitch writes "The last question's answer was Jim Blandings the ad exec that Cary Grant played in the film Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948). Looks like adgrunt Alex managed to stump everyone here with that question - and that makes him the king of superb ad trivia and the lucky winner of a 20-pack of those ever-sexy Jewelboxings!" Another Trivia Chain contest at Ad-Land, another winner.
jc-07.20.04

Phillip has a slight problem with Jewelboxing. If your problem is paying for a system, perhaps you should try to win one by putting together a song list that gets you from London to Chicago for The Big Smoker. Or, if you're more visually inclined, take the perfect summer snapshot and submit it to the PhotoForums new Photo Challenge contest.
cp-06.07.04

We don't often point to our client work here, but we've recently redesigned the home page for the Tom Peters Company and while it's a nice clean implementation of a bloggified corporate site for a company that really "gets it," the most interesting thing to us is the TPC's belief that "fast prototyping" is a messy but essential method of introducing any new service or product. He who makes the most mistakes wins. Rather than holding a project back while every pixel is tweaked (something we're frequently guilty of) they said, "Do what you think is right and let's get it out there so we can learn." Man, is that refreshing and empowering too. The plan is to move the insides of the site over to the new look and feel over time, 'getting dressed in public' if you will. We sure appreciate the job but not as much as we appreciate this new perspective. Note: Thanks to all for the bug catches and nice comments too.
cp-06.03.04

JC will be speaking at Design Madison this week with Eric and Drew from Slowtron. They'll be showing their latest film, 'How to Barbecue a Man,' the Citizen Kane of short, comedic films about cooking people in a backyard. If you're in the area, come by and say hello.
cp-04.19.04

Fresh from Slamdance! "The Sparky Award for Global Anarchy Winner is ìWestern State #3î which profiles the artwork of Canadian genius, Geoff Mcfetridge. Directed by Slowtron." Huzzzah for Eric and Drew. We've been lucky to have hosted all three episodes of Western State here and rumor has it Number Four is just around the corner. We'll try to get a word with the directors as soon as they're finished with their post-festival bender.
cp-01.26.04

There it is. Slowtron's Western State Three: Geoff Mcfetridge, part of the ongoing series we have been proud to host here at Coudal, is listed in the program schedule for the Slamdance Festival to be held in Park City, Utah later this month. Huzzah.
cp-01.13.04

CP welcomes our new intern, Carlos Barillas (cb). We're teaching him a few things today, but we're pretty sure he'll be teaching us a few things along the way.
cp-01.06.04

In case you didn't see this when it was posted over the holidays, designer Brendan Dawes used our Jewelboxing system for the packaging of his video "Voices in the Subway." We were glad to be able to add that to our Examples + Inspirations page.
cp-01.05.04

Our Bryan Bedell's 2strokeBuzz, "Kicking Ass and Leaking Gas," is featured as a part of the "Fashion of the Times" supplement to yesterday's New York Times Magazine, (reg. req). Whoohoo, "a slick Web magazine and a groundbreaking zine in its time."
cp-09.22.03

A couple CP hardball notes. Starting today, we're creating a series of humor features for The Chicago Reader. The Chicago Baseball Consumer Confidence Index plots the hopes of fans of Chicago's two baseball teams against time on a graph and generally cracks-wise about things baseball. You can find it in the Our Town pages of the paper's first section. On our site for Fox Sports Net New England, we edit a weblog that serves as a daily diary for Red Sox fans. Today's guest column there by Tony Pierce also speaks of Chicago's hope, or lack thereof.
cp-08.08.03

Fabio Sergio of Genova had some swell things to say about us at FreeGorifero, and we appreciate it, but even better than that, he pointed us to this excellent Quicktime panorama of San Miniato al Monte, the church above Florence where we found the model for our studio logo.
cp-08.01.03

Rachel Osterman looks at the ways in which companies, including CP, are using weblogs to manage workflow and streamline internal and external communication. In today's Chicago Tribune business section. (registration required) Much more on the subject can be found at BloggingWorks.cp-07.23.03

Sandra Guy profiles CP in a piece in today's Bright One, aka, the Chicago Sun-Times. Funky? I dunno. Free-wheeling? I guess so. "Weblogs are a real opportunity to make it more efficient and economical to communicate with vendors, customers and employees." For sure.
cp-07.16.03

"Iíve been in the studio recording songs for my album," said the grasshopper.
The ants said, "You should have been collecting corn. Now youíre going to starve to death." From Kevin's piece at TMN today. The Indignant Correspondence of Folksy Ken Oakley.cp-07.03.03

We made spot #2 in FilmMaker Magazine's The Super 8. Mostly thanks to our presentation of Slowtron's fine Western State series.
jc-06.25.03

"A television show rolls into town, interior designers and carpenter in tow. Two sets of neighbors trade houses in a decorating scheme to surprise each other. Sound familiar? Well, it did." Transcending Spaces, by Kevin Guilfoile, at The Morning News.
cp-11.21.02

A new woefully underpaid but earnest and talented intern joins the CP team. Ladies and gentlemen, Anthony Vitagliano.
cp-11.12.02

Our own Dave Reidy will be reading at Wordsworth in Cambridge, MA tomorrow night at an event celebrating the release of Pindeldyboz 3.cp-10.11.02

Pindeldyboz 3, featuring dr's story "Long Live the Superlative," comes out today.
cp-10.01.02

Our own Kevin Guilfoile made an appearance at the Hammes Bookstore on the campus of his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame. He read stuff like this and signed stuff like this and thiscp-09.05.02

So long France, the Irish advance. BB's latest futbol permutations and possibilities are live at the 2strokeBuzz
World Cup notebook.
cp-06.10.02

"Uncomfortable," a story of dr's, was reprinted in the Richmond, VA weekly Punchline as part of the May 30 Fiction Quarterly issue. For those of you who fail to live near Richmond, the piece can be found here.cp-06.10.02

"Certain sites try nevertheless to create forms of completely different competitions, like Coudal Photoshop Tennis. On this site, where the level of play is accessible only for talented professionals, it is necessary to clash two by two on the same image, by adding each one to it its turn a new copy until reaching ten exchanges.... It seems that by controlling it, one can make the difference between the artists of Sunday and warlike truths of the pixel." Apologies to Cyberpresse for the Babel Fish translation.
jc-05.17.02

dr has a short story in the upcoming issue of Pindeldyboz, to be released Summer 2002. Preorder it here. The introduction to the issue is written by Ben Greenman, whom our friends at The Morning News have interviewed definitively.
cp-05.13.02

jc has a piece featured in Jen Sharpe's Pirate Radio broadcast tonight (4/17) as part of the The Free Biennial in NYC. You can tune it in at 10pm at 99.9FM. Jen writes, "As for reception, I put up my antenna last night, hooked up my transmitter, and did a test broadcast. The show came in best on Ave. B, South of Thompkins Square Park down to about Houston." If you're not in the city, the show will be streamed at the same time at sharpeworld.cp-04.17.02

kg has some advice for religious recruiters trying to capitalize on recent developments regarding the American Catholic Church, in his column at The Morning News.cp-04.17.02

We have been asked for the names of everyone who scored 100% in the Rock and Roll quiz and, it being an elite group, we are happy to oblige. In addition to our winners, announced earlier, the following people, in no particular order, were 12-for-12: Allen Boudreaux, Dennis Mahoney, Ace Guillaume, Nick Terzich, Patti Sturr, Tim Thompson, and Rosecrans Baldwin. Rosecrans wins honorable mention for having the earliest reply with all correct answers. There should be a prize for that, but there isn't.
kg-01.02.02

Some of the most fun we've had at cp over the years has been creating Houston Astros commercials (heck, we got to meet George and Barbara Bush, Bum Phillips, and Clyde Drexler all in the same day). The team has just posted eight of those spots Òsome going back to 1996Ò and asked their fans to vote for their favorite.
kg-12.06.01

For those of you in Chicago, the DezmOpium Fandango was announced recently. Visit Dezmin's Archives for details. Both kg and dr will read, as will friend of the agency John Warner.
jc-07.31.01

KG and friend of the agency John Warner, wrote the book and CP built the site, My First Presidentiary, a scrapbook from George Dubya Bush, coming this spring from Crown and Modern Humorist.
jc-02.24.01

KG has a piece up at McSweeney's today. "Painted entirely with dots."
jc-02.23.01

CP's own Dave Reidy riffs on Taoism and Hemingway at Verge Magazine.
jc-01.08.01

cp's Kevin Guilfoile and John Warner have an article up at Salon today "In which a grizzled veteran actor (Martin Sheen) and a pretty new songbird (Mandy Moore) mount inspiring letter campaigns to thwart third-party candidates and support the Vice Big Dog." Very funny.
jc-11.03.00